Actuating device for a pivotal closure member

ABSTRACT

Actuator device for a pivotable closure member such as a window or a pivoting vehicle roof, comprises a crank articulated at one end on the closure member and whose other end is connected to a rotatable member secured to one end of a cable arranged to roll up on and unroll from at least a portion of said rotatable member. The other end of the cable is fixed to a motor, for example a linear actuator. The connection between the articulated crank and the rotatable member (3) is effected by a conical pinion (4) in mesh with a toothed sector (5) on the rotatable member (3). The axis of the conical pinion is orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the rotatable member (3). The motor means is mounted on a support (12) secured to the rotatable member (3).

The invention relates to an actuating device for a pivotal closuremember such as a window or pivotal roof of a vehicle of the typecomprising a rod articulated at one end on said closure member and whoseother end is connected to a rotatable member carrying one end of a cablearranged to roll onto and off at least a portion of said rotatablemember, the other end of said cable being secured to a drive means.

The manually controlled actuating devices adapted to move a closuremember of a vehicle, so as to bring it by pivotal movement from the openposition to the closed position, or vice versa, whether by a devicedisposed in the vicinity of the element to be moved or by means of aremote actuating means, are known.

There is also known for opening side rear windows conventional systemsof ball and socket joints which unfortunately are not accessible to thedriver while driving. It has therefore been proposed to provide remotecontrol devices which are for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,740,093, FR-A-80.03229 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,865.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,093 relates to a device comprising a crank disposedon the side panel of the vehicle and connected to the actuatingmechanism of the closure member by means of a flexible cable. The crankdrives in rotation the cable which effects rotation of the actuatingmechanism for opening and closing the forward window of the vehicleconfronting that of the driver.

For its part, FR-A-80.03229 describes a device comprising two identicalactuating members spaced from each other and interconnected by aflexible cable. The first actuating member is driven in rotation by amanual control handle directly accessible to the driver. The actuatingmember converts this movement of rotation into linear movement of theflexible member which then drives the rear actuating member whicheffects a new conversion of the movement and transmits this rotationmovement to an articulated rod system of the overcenter type whichconnects the actuating member to the glass.

The devices described in these documents are relatively bulky andrequire effort by the user who must exert a rotative movement to actuatethe assembly of the device.

There has also been proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,865, a remotecontrol system in which an end of a ball and socket joint for openingand closing the closure member is controlled by a drive means comprisingan electric motor disposed remotely and two transmission cables rollingup on and unrolling from a drum according to the direction of rotationof the motor. The axle of the drum is fixed to the free end of the balland socket joint. This known assembly is undesirably large as to theactuating mechanism. The mounting is extremely complicated because themotor is for example mounted at the bottom of the panel. Moreover, thelength of flexible cable necessarily introduces imprecision of operationbecause of the play thus provided.

One of the objects of the invention is therefore to provide an actuatingdevice with pneumatic control, of small size, permitting remotelycontrolling, by an occupant in the front of the vehicle, a pivotingmovement of a closure member such as a window or pivoting roof of thevehicle, between a closed and an open position.

To this end, the control device according to the invention ischaracterized in that the connection between the rod articulated to therotatable member is effected by means of a conical pinion meshing with atoothed sector of said rotatable member, the axis of said conical pinionbeing substantially orthogonal to the axis of rotation of said rotatablemember, the drive means being constituted by a linear pneumatic actuatormounted on the support secured to said rotatable member.

To permit the rotation of the rotatable member in both directions, thefirst cable can be prolonged by a second cable whose one end is carriedby the rotatable member and whose other end is secured to a secondactuator with linear movement or a double acting actuator. It is alsopossible to provide an elastic return means in the vicinity of therotatable member, said elastic means subjecting the rotatable member toa movement of rotation in a direction opposite that controlled by theactuator.

Other characteristics, variations and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from a reading of the description which follows withregard to the accompanying drawings, which description and drawings aregiven only by way of examples. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an actuating deviceaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the crank system;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the connection actuator/control member;

FIG. 4 is a simplified elevational view of the connectionactuator/control member;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the positioning of the controlmember relative to the closure member; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the actuating device in operativeposition.

In accordance with FIG. 1, the control member comprises a conical pinion4 in mesh with a toothed sector 5 in the shape, for example, of a crown,integral with the rotatable member 3. The rotatable member 3 is providedwith an axial recess permitting the reception of the axle of rotation.This axle, integral with the lower element 9 of the casing, isconstituted by a projection of said element or by a rod connected tosaid element. At a fixed position 2 on the rotatable member 3 is secureda cable 1. This cable 1, adapted to roll up on and unroll from at leasta portion of the rotatable member 3, is maintained in contact with saidmember 3 by radial projections 7a and 7b integral with the rotatablemember 3. It is also possible, according to an unillustrated embodiment,to omit the radial projections and to replace them by a groove providedin the periphery of the rotatable member 3. In this case, if therotatable member 3 is of circular shape, it will constitute a pulley.

The other end of cable 1 is secured to a linear movement actuator 6. Theactuator or pneumatic jack 6 comprises a body in the interior of whichis disposed a deformable membrane. This membrane delimits a chamberadapted to be subjected either to atmospheric pressure or to a vacuumthanks to a tube carried by the body of the jack. This tube is adaptedto be interconnected, by means of a valve, to a source of vacuum. Thisactuator could comprise several membranes so as to delimit severalchambers thereby permitting the cable to have several positions betweenthe two end positions.

The actuator 6 is disposed adjacent the control member and is connectedto this latter by a support 12 ending in jaws coming into engagementwith a toothed sector 11 carried by the lower and respectively the upperelement of the casing. The teeth of the sector 11 coact withcomplementary provisions of the tooth type disposed at the end of thejaws of support 12. These teeth permit varying the position of theactuator over an angle α according to FIG. 4. This angle α is determinedat the time of assembly.

The lower element and the upper complementary element of the casing arejuxtaposed on each other and maintained in assembly thanks to, forexample, rivets, and are provided in the upper portion of one of theirlateral ends, with notches or openings 19 which permit providing anopening for the passage of cable 1. The lower and upper elements of thecasing also comprise lugs 8a, 8b and 8c disposed in a triangle so as tomaintain the cable in position.

To permit the rotation of the rotatable member in both directions, thecable 1 is prolonged by a second cable 18 one of whose ends is fixed at2 to the rotatable member and whose other end is secured to a secondlinear movement actuator. The two actuators are thus, according to aconfiguration in accordance with FIG. 1, disposed side by side.According to another embodiment of the invention (not shown), it is alsopossible to replace the second actuator by an elastic return meansdisposed in the vicinity of the rotatable member, said elastic meanssubjecting the rotatable member 3 to a movement of rotation in adirection opposite that controlled by the actuator.

It is possible to use only a single cable and a single pneumaticactuator 6 by subjecting the rotatable member to the action of returnmeans (not shown).

It is also possible to use a single pneumatic actuator 6 controlling thetwo cables 1 and 18. According to one embodiment, the free end of thesecond cable is connected to the membrane of the actuator 6 whosechambers can be connected alternatively to vacuum and to the atmosphereor to a positive pressure. There is obtained in this latter case anelevated torque on the rotatable member 3.

According to FIG. 2, the conical pinion 4 is fixed in rotation with acrank 13 connected by means of a roller 14 to another crank (not shown),said crank being itself connected in conventional manner by piercing andupsetting to the closure member.

To reduce the size, there can be provided between the crank 13 and theconical pinion 4 a shaft (not shown) connected to a transmission gearboxwhich carries said crank 13. The useful length of the shaft could beadjustable, for example by a sliding of the shaft coaxially of theconical pinion.

In operative position, and according to FIG. 5, actuating device 17 isdisposed on the panel of the chassis adjacent a freely swinging edge ofthe closure member and opposite the articulated edge.

The control of the actuators is effected by switches disposed on thedashboard. However, for safety reasons, this control could also beeffected manually. Thus, according to FIG. 6, the rotatable member isprovided with a transverse ridge 20 which permits one of the occupantsof the vehicle to control manually the movement of the rotatable memberwhen the actuators indicate a malfunction.

When one of the chambers of one of the actuators is subjected to vacuum,the membrane deforms and exerts traction on the cable. The cable thendrives in rotation the rotatable member 3 and the toothed sector 5integral with the rotatable member 3. The displacement of the toothedsector 5 in mesh with the conical pinion 4 drives in rotation saidpinion 4 which itself is secured in rotation to the crank 13 sunk in thepinion 4. The crank 13 transmits, by means of the roller 14, itspivoting movement to the second crank which then controls the opening ofthe closure member.

The closing of the closure member can be controlled by a second actuatorexerting opposite traction on the cable. In this case, when the chamberof one of the actuators is subjected to vacuum, the chamber of the otheractuator is at atmospheric pressure, and vice versa. But the closing ofthe closure element can also be controlled by a return element, forexample a tension spring disposed adjacent the control member andexerting a return force on said cable.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown but comprises onthe contrary all variations of embodiment within the scope of theinvention.

We claim:
 1. Actuator device for a pivotable closure member such as awindow or a pivoting vehicle roof of the type comprising a crankarticulated at one end on said closure member and whose other end isconnected to a rotatable member secured to one end of a cable arrangedto roll up on and unroll from at least a portion of said rotatablemember, the other end of said cable being fixed to a motor means,characterized in that the connection between the articulated crank andthe rotatable member (3) is effected by means of a conical pinion (4) inmesh with a toothed sector (5) on said rotatable member (3), the axis ofsaid conical pinion being substantially orthogonal to the axis ofrotation of said rotatable member (3), the motor means being mounted ona support (12) secured to said rotatable member (3).
 2. Actuator deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that said cable (1) is prolongedby a second cable (18) whose one end is carried by the rotatable member(3), said cables (1, 18) being disposed in such a way that traction onone or the other of the cables (1, 18) drives the rotatable member (3)in rotation in one direction or the other.
 3. Actuator device accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the rotatable member (3) comprisesradial projections (7a, 7b) for guiding the cable.
 4. Actuator deviceaccording to claim 1,characterized in that the assembly of the device,except the actuator (6), is disposed within a casing (9) constituted bytwo elements of complementary shape and juxtaposed on each other, thetwo elements being provided with projecting portions (8a, 8b, 8c) andrecesses so as to form a guide conduit for the cable and to provideopenings (19) for the passage of the cable to the exterior of the casing(9).
 5. Actuator device according to claim 4, characterized in that atleast one of the elements of the casing (9) comprises a projectingportion which is received within an axial opening of the rotatablemember (3) to constitute the rotation axle of the rotatable member (3).6. Actuator device according to claim 4, characterized in that theelements of the casing (9) are provided at one of their ends with atoothed sector (11) for prepositioning adapted to coact withcomplementary means carried by the support (12) of the actuator so as topermit a variation of angular position of the actuator (6) at the timeof assembly.